Treasured Moments
by Azarelinor
Summary: No matter what happens, it's important to cherish all the good times spent with friends. A spin-off of Final Gambit, but no knowledge of the main fic is required.


This is a spin-off/omake series of scenes that I couldn't fit into Final Gambit. The only background knowledge you need to know is that Jaune traveled into the past. That's it. And now, on with the story!

* * *

"You know what would be really good right now?" Nora mused, lying on her bed and kicking her feet in the air. "Pancakes. A whole stack of them. No, _two_ whole stacks."

Ren flipped a page, not bothering to look up from the book he was reading. "Nora, it's nine. If you wanted pancakes, you should have had them before the cafeteria closed. You can have some for breakfast tomorrow."

She flipped over onto her back. "But Ren," she moaned, covering her eyes with the back of one hand, "That's almost _forever_ from now. I can't wait that long. Plus, they didn't even have pancakes at dinner. Those monsters," she grumbled. "Don't they know that pancakes are one of the six major food groups?"

Ren glanced up this time, placing his bookmark and carefully laying the book in his lap. "Nora," he pointed out reasonably, "It's not as though we can just demand pancakes right now. Who would even make them? You can't cook, and my cooking skills aren't much better than yours. Since we don't have any premade mix, they would have to be made from scratch, and you remember how the last time we tried that went."

She scowled at him. "Well I want pancakes," she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. "If you could just learn to cook, then we could have pancakes whenever we wanted." Ren shrugged, choosing not to comment on his subpar cooking skills.

"I could make them," Jaune spoke up. When the two turned to face him and even Pyrrha looked up from her studying in interest, he shrugged lightly. "I have a lot of experience making pancakes. I… had a friend who absolutely loved them," he said wistfully, gazing at the ceiling. "She said that my pancakes were to die for. The best pancakes she'd ever had."

"Ooh," Nora sat up eagerly, staring intently at Jaune. "Who was she? What was she like? Can I meet her? And most importantly," she said, raising a finger into the air, "Can you fix me some pancakes?"

"I suppose that I could be persuaded to fix some pancakes," Jaune put a hand to his chin, pretending to mull it over.

"Pleaaaaaseeee," Nora begged, drawing out the word. "You can't tell me you make amazing pancakes and then not make me any."

Jaune smiled at her. "That wouldn't be very fair now, would it?" Nora nodded, whipping her head up and down furiously, and Jaune let out a fake sigh. "I guess that I can make a batch of pancakes or five," he mused, and Nora cheered, jumping off of her bed.

"Then what are we sitting around for!" She exclaimed, raising her hands in the air. "Pancakes await!"

"Actually Nora," Pyrrha chimed in, looking apologetic, "Beacon's kitchens are off limit to the students. We're not allowed to use them."

Nora deflated, a sullen expression on her face. "That sucks," she mumbled sadly, kicking at the ground. "Why do they have a stupid rule like that? If we're getting sent out to kill Grimm, then we should at least be able to make pancakes."

"Actually," Jaune drawled, grinning as Nora perked up once more. "I think that I might be able to get us in. Professor Ozpin gave me his personal scroll number in case I needed to talk with him again. I'm pretty sure that he would be okay with us using the kitchen if we clean up after ourselves."

"Jaune," Pyrrha said hesitantly as he dialed the number, "Are you sure that you should be contacting him for something like this? It sounds like he gave you his number in case you had something important to tell him."

Jaune smiled mischievously at her, and she blushed slightly, but didn't look away. "I'm sure that he'll be okay with it," he reassured her. "Professor Ozpin is pretty laid back about things like this."

The scroll lit up with Ozpin's face as the call was answered. "Hello Mr. Arc," the professor said calmly, sipping his coffee. "To what do I owe this unexpected reprieve from paperwork to?"

"We were wondering if we could use the kitchens!" Nora cut in, shoving her head in front of the scroll. "Jaune says that his pancakes are _amazing_!"

Ozpin's lips quirked upwards as Ren gently pulled Nora away from the screen. "You do realize that the kitchens are off limits to students, correct?" He asked softly, an amused glint in his eyes.

"Well duh!" Nora exclaimed before Jaune could speak. "That's why we're calling!" Ren lowered his face into a palm and sighed quietly, shaking his head.

"I suppose that I could make an exception," Ozpin mused, taking another sip of his coffee. "On one condition." He placed his coffee on the table and gave Jaune a sly wink. "I would like some pancakes as well."

"Done!" Nora yelled, throwing her hands into the air as Ren put his other palm to his face as well.

"Thanks Professor," Jaune murmured quietly.

"Think nothing of it Mr. Arc," the Headmaster smiled sadly at him. "You of all people know the importance of treasuring moments like these," he said, loud enough for only Jaune to hear. Jaune nodded, a lump in his throat, and the Headmaster raised his mug in a toast before ending the scroll call.

"Well," Jaune said hoarsely, before clearing his throat, "Who's up for pancakes?"

* * *

"Thanks for inviting us!" Ruby said cheerfully as the two teams made their way down the corridor towards the kitchen. "I was getting really, really bored of all that studying." She made a face at the thought.

Weiss sighed, massaging her forehead. "Ruby," she scolded, "You were the one who made the commitment to be a great leader. Don't tell me you're backing out on that."

"But Weiss," Ruby whined, looking at her pitifully, "It's so _boring_. I came to Beacon to be a Huntress, not to write essays!"

"Communication is an important aspect of being a Huntress," Weiss shot back.

"Ah, lay off of her, _Weiss_ Queen," Yang sang, grinning broadly. "Relax, have some fun! Some pancakes maybe!" She turned to Jaune, smirking. "Courtesy of our own dear Vomit Boy of course."

"It is a little surprising that you can cook," Blake said, glancing sideways at Jaune. "You don't really seem the type."

Jaune laughed a little. "I suppose that I don't," he murmured, shaking his head slightly. "In all honesty, I only ended up learning how to cook because the rest of my friends couldn't. I started out making some of their favorite dishes and moved up from there. At this point I'd say that I'm a pretty good cook, though my best dishes are the ones that I started out with."

"What dishes are those?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Well," Jaune hesitated, wondering if he should lie before deciding that something so simple wouldn't give anything away. "I'm best at making pancakes, bear chops, grilled tuna, spicy kung pao chicken," Ren's brow rose – that wasn't a common food in Vale. "Roast pork, blueberry ice cream, and strawberry cookies."

"Strawberry cookies?!" Ruby gasped, eyes shining. "Jaune, could you make some of those too? Please please please?"

Jaune chuckled and ruffled her hair. "I suppose that I could make some strawberry cookies as well. Does anyone else have any requests? I probably won't be able to make anything too complicated, but I can whip up a few dishes." He was instantly swamped by his friends, each wanting their favorite food.

* * *

"What's taking him so long," Nora grumbled, her cheek against her arms as she rested them on the table. "It's ten thirty already. Where are my pancakes?"

Blake glanced up from the game of Remnant she was playing with the rest of RWBY. "Give him some time. We did ask for quite a bit of food."

Nora groaned, tilting her head to look at the ceiling out of the corner of one eye. "I'm bored," she said abruptly, sitting up straight. "Ren, entertain me," she said imperiously, glaring at him.

He glanced up at her and rolled his eyes, before taking out his scroll and keying in his password. He tapped a few buttons and handed her the device.

Yang peered over Nora's shoulder. "Viking versus Legs?" She asked, perplexed. "What kind of scroll game is that?"

"My type of game!" Nora exclaimed happily, pressing start. Her face took on an expression of extreme concentration as the miniature Viking made his way through the level, eating pancakes and breaking legs with a hammer.

Yang turned to Ren, who shrugged. "I may not be able to cook, but I can at least make a scroll game," he said simply by way of answer.

"All finished!" Jaune said, bringing out a trolley from the kitchen filled with food. Due to time constraints, he hadn't been able to take all the requests but he had made some simple dishes in addition to tuna, ice cream, cookies, and…

"PANCAKES!" Nora roared, the sound echoing through the empty cafeteria. Blake winced, her sensitive faunus ears aching from the sudden scream.

"Nora," Ren said chidingly. "Don't yell like that."

"Sorry Ren!" She said brightly, drooling at the stacks of pancakes. "But the pancakes just look sooo good."

"If the food tastes as good as it look," Pyrrha chimed in, smiling gently, "then we have a veritable feast on our hands. Thank you Jaune."

"Yeah thanks fearless leader!" Nora cheered. "Now gimme pancakes!"

Jaune laughed, taking all of the food off the trolley and laying it down on the table as RWBY scrambled to clean up their game to make room. Nora waited with barely restrained eagerness, matched only by Ruby's clear anticipation.

When the food was laid out on the table, Jaune spread his hands and said, "I may not have been able to make everything I wanted to, but I hope that this is enough. Dig in!"

There was a frantic scramble for food as utensils clashed over the dishes. After the initial fervor died down, Nora took it upon herself to take the first bite.

She eagerly stuffed a pancake in her mouth, savoring the taste as she chewed. The rest of the table waited with baited breath for the verdict. "Marry me," she said, uncharacteristically serious as she turned to Jaune. "You've ruined me for all other pancakes, and I demand you take responsibility!"

Jaune laughed again, ruffling her hair. "How about I just make you pancakes on occasion?"

Nora pondered this as she filled her mouth with pancake goodness. Making up her mind, she nodded decisively. "Deaw!" She proclaimed, flecks of food flying through the air.

This seemed to prompt everyone else to sample the pancakes as well, and soon indistinct, appreciative sounds filled the room. Pyrrha swallowed a bite of pancake and gently wiped her lips with a napkin before turning to Jaune. "Was that cinnamon I tasted?" She asked curiously.

Jaune nodded. "You like it?"

"It's unique and delicious. Best pancake I've ever had," Pyrrha admitted. "Not that I've had many pancakes before." She turned back to the table and grabbed one of the sandwiches he had made.

He felt a tug on his sleeve, and looked down to see Ruby, mouth filled with cookies, looking up at him earnestly. She swallowed, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. "Thanks for all the food, Jaune!" She exclaimed. "I can't remember the last time I've had food this good! Erm, if it's not too much trouble, could we do this again some time? Your cookies are just sooo good," she said, stuffing another cookie in her mouth for emphasis. "Plus, you did say that you would make pancakes for Nora," She brushed the crumbs off her shirt before turning. "What does everyone say that we do this again? Maybe go out on a picnic or something one weekend?"

"Heck yeah!" Yang cheered, standing and slinging an arm around Jaune's shoulder. "I like the way you think sis!"

"A picnic does sound like a good idea," Weiss said, daintily wiping blueberry ice cream away with a napkin.

Blake nodded at him. "That sounds nice," she murmured.

"I would like to try some of your kung pao chicken," Ren said, smiling slightly.

"Of course," Pyrrha stated, nodding firmly.

"Well duh!" Nora exclaimed when he turned to her. "If you're making pancakes, of course I'll be there!"

He turned back to Ruby. "That settles it then," she chirped, beaming up at him. "You will make a picnic for us, right?"

He looked at his friends before sighing. "I suppose I've been outvoted on this, haven't I?" He asked rhetorically. "This weekend sound good?"

They nodded, smiling happily, and he felt a grin of his own forming on his face.

* * *

Ozpin walked calmly through the empty cafeteria, sipping on his coffee. Noting that everything had been cleaned and put away, he made his way into the kitchen. On seeing what was left on the counter, his lips twitched upwards. "And you even remembered my pancake," he murmured, raising his mug in a silent toast.

* * *

I looked up a lot of the favorite foods, but I couldn't find Yang's, Ren's, or Pyrrha's. I just based the foods that those three like off of their character inspirations; Goldilocks, Mulan, and Achilles. If anyone knows what their actual favorite food is, let me know (food, not drink). Until next time!


End file.
